Wilbon No!

Submitted by macdaddy on

I like Mike Wilbon but... ugh. From ESPN front page:

I like to take shots at Michigan football and Notre Dame football … though not as much lately because both have become so irrelevant. How much dislike can you work up for programs whose primary December activity is deciding whether to hire a new coach? Of course, I'd send my son to either school proudly, but there's no way you could have attended Northwestern before the mid-1990s and not at least smile at arrogance getting some comeuppance.

BiSB

December 8th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^

"If a given baseball field is 120.2 yards long, and a football field is 120 yards long, and the walls are made of brick, and a human being running at full speed travels at approximately 20 mph, should we:

  • a) Teach the players to stop in less than 0.2 yards,
  • b) Forbid running during the game,
  • c) Make the players play the entire game at one end of the field, or
  • d) PLAY THE DAMN GAME SOMEWHERE ELSE

BlueGoM

December 8th, 2010 at 1:23 PM ^

Agreed.   Pat Fitzgerald has put together some of the most successful Wildcat teams in recent history.  He's a great coach doing a great job.   I think the current NW senior class has won more games than any senior class in the past 20-30 years or something like that.

aawolve

December 8th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^

When MSU fans talk about MSU football more than they talk about M football, then I'll be worried that we're becoming irrelevant. Two losing seasons do not undo 100+ years of history, and anyone who thinks so is a babbling idiot.

SFBlue

December 8th, 2010 at 6:08 PM ^

+1.  So true.  I was back in Michigan for the holidays, and Sparty fans were far more interested in rubbing Michigan's losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State in my face, speculating about RR ("spread don't work in the Big 10 you need MOAR MUSCLES"), and accusing Denard Robinson of being a pussy and/or a running back than they were in discussing any of Sparty's accomplishments. 

BiSB

December 8th, 2010 at 12:29 PM ^

ND hasn't been particularly relevant on the national stage in 15 years.  Michigan was a play away from the National Championship game in 2006 (DON'T DO IT, SHAWN... PULL UP...), beat Tebow in 2007, and was ranked for something like 6,000 consecutive weeks before The Horror. 

A couple of down seasons =/= a couple of down decades.

dakotapalm

December 8th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^

well, Mike Wilbon said on Tony Kornheiser's radio show last year that Rodriguez would NOT return for 2010. He cited as a source a "former Michigan player in the know" who pulled out his wallet and placed it on the table as a wager that Rodriguez would be fired during the 2009-2010 off-season.

In otherwords, I trust him completely.

/s

switch26

December 8th, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^

I remember this exactly, but wasn't it a former WVU player that was extremely close to RR..

 

It was a joke, not to mention the other day Wilbon said RR has done more than enough to bring him back and supported him for the Groban song thing..

PurpleStuff

December 8th, 2010 at 12:34 PM ^

I would imagine most Northwestern alums feel this way and I don't really blame them (you need a defense mechanism against a lifetime of losing results).  I'm pretty sure Vanderbilt grads take pleasure when Tennessee and Alabama struggle.  Rice alums probably got a big kick out of Texas' struggles this year.  The rest of the Pac 10 roots against USC football and UCLA basketball. 

When you are a traditional power that beats the little guy far more often than not, people who went to other schools don't tend to like you.

blueindy

December 8th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^

Did any one see PTI last week when they do the 5 second cutback to the studio between commercials and he said he wouldn't see Lebron's return to Cleveland because he was going to be at a Kenny G concert? Hilarious.

iawolve

December 8th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^

The guy was in college during a time when NW would get absolutely throttled by teams like UM. If OSU was down, he would say the same thing about OSU. Having met him and having a friend who knows him pretty well, Wilbon is pretty normal. Any normal NW fan would have no reason to like Michigan in the least or ND considering how bad the local Chicago media slurps them. I would be more surprised if he professed his love of UM since I would wonder what was wrong with him or what link he has with the school.

MGoShoe

December 8th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^

...Michigan every chance he gets.  When he used to do live chats at washingtonpost.com, any question that dealt with Michigan got a snarky reply.

He is simply incapable of separating his disdain for Michigan learned during his undergrad days at Northwestern from his commentary. 

Yostal

December 8th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^

Wilbon clearly has never liked Michigan and that is because he is a Northwestern guy.  He's honest about his bias in this regard and he owns it.  I'd rather have a columnist who lays out where he's coming from and what colors his view than one who tries to play everything as "all things being equal."

*-columnist, not a reporter.  That's different.

JeepinBen

December 8th, 2010 at 12:59 PM ^

I like Wilbon. I grew up in Chicago and he loves all of my teams except Michigan. Wilbon hates M and ND the same way I grew up hating ND. 

If you weren't/aren't a Michigan fan, you probably hate Michigan, just like the Yankees. Decades of dominance and success will do that. Northwestern home games Vs. Michigan are really Michigan home games in Evanston. 

He's got a grudging respect/fan hate for us, and there's nothing wrong with that. At least he's up front about it. He's usually got pretty sane takes on things (he recently said Rich needs another year, remember Denard in the beginning of the year, etc.) and he's entertaining

Blue_Sox

December 8th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^

Wilbon and Kornheiser are nothing more than entertainers. At least they both somewhat admit to it unlike guys from a local newspaper in town (cough drew sharp cough). He takes shots at Michigan because that is what people like to hear. Just like people like to hear that the Heat are losing. 

I personally like Wilbon because he is a pretty funny guy who rarely takes himself too seriously. I know he's a very respected journalist from his days with the WaPo...but I think his switch to ESPN.com officially signals the end of that era.

markusr2007

December 8th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^

Honestly.

Is his opinion supposed to be important or something?

I just read that he's a Chicago-area sports fan and sportswriter, but I'm not sure why his negative views of ND and UM would cause so much worry. 

Perhaps you can take heart in the fact that he's a Chicago Cubs fan. That means Mr. Wilbon has a full and complete understanding of what living hell must really be like.